Awards and Press
In 2022, NBC came to Freetown Farm to film CEI's work for the Today Show! Over 150 of our core community members joined us for the filming and we could not be more proud and grateful that our collective story has been shared in this way. Please click the button below to watch how hours of farm footage was condensed into four powerful minutes of storytelling about how we are nurturing communities together.
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Awards, Articles and Interviews:
2024
2024
- HOWARD COUNTY BRANCH OF THE NAACP - ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD (2024)
- CHANGEMAKER CHALLENGE AWARD (2024) - The Horizon Foundation, United Way of Central Maryland, Women’s Giving Circle, and Community Foundation of Howard County collaboratively support community innovation with an annual "Changemaker Challenge." In our pitch, we collaborated with Columbia Community Care on a new "Farm to Family Fellowship" that engages teens and young adults in our community in the local food system.
- COLUMBIA COMMUNITY CARE SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD (2024)
- HOWARD COUNTY GREEN COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD (2023)
- Students in Howard County gain their green thumbs (article and video), August 2023
- Community Garden Project Provides Fresh Produce & Nutrition Education Opportunities, August 2023
- Community Ecology Institute: Nature-Based Learning, People-Planet Connections, April 2023
- CEI Connects Community Through Nature - Business Weekly - page 13 - February 2023
- CEI Purchases Jim and Peggy Duke’s ‘Green Farmacy Garden’ - American Botanical Council - January 2023
- RISE TO THE CHALLENGE AWARD (2022) - CEI was one of five Howard County non-profits to receive a non-profit innovation award from the Howard County Government recognizing our collaborative response to the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘Rise to the Challenge’ award recipients honored by County Executive Calvin Ball for dedication and resiliency during Covid-19 pandemic
- CORNERSTONE AWARD (2022) - The Community Ecology Institute and the Howard County Extension’s Watershed Stewardship Academy have been awarded a prestigious Cornerstone Award by the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources for the Freetown Walkable Watershed project's achievements in Optimizing Urban Environments. https://extension.umd.edu/news-events/news/howard-county-extension-and-community-ecosystem-institute-receive-prestigious-agnr-cornerstone-award
- Freetown Farm flourishes and shares its bountiful harvest | Clarksville – Baltimore Sun - October 2022
- The Community Ecology Institute - where people and nature thrive - The Inspirer - October 2022
- The Inspirer by Em Barrett - Interviews with inspiring people, bringing solutions to our world's problems. .https://anchor.fm/em-barrett8/episodes/On-Cultivating-Community-with-Chiara-DAmore-e1p1nj3/a-a8lo3lf
- Episode 2 Connecting Our Community While Isolated Mixdown The HoCoCast team of Baz, Daniel, Emmy, and Olivia, focus on the environment in honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22). Joining them in this episode is local environmentalist, Chiara D’Amore.
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Prize.
- CHANGEMAKER CHALLENGE AWARD (2021) - The Horizon Foundation, United Way of Central Maryland, Women’s Giving Circle, and Community Foundation of Howard County collaboratively support community innovation with an annual "Changemaker Challenge." The theme for 2021 was Innovate, Cultivate, Uplift. In our pitch, we introduced our new Nourishing Gardens program, and we were deeply honored to win the Challenge's Community Choice Award! CEI's Nourishing Gardens Pitch - The Howard County Changemaker Challenge - YouTube
- ACS HUMANITARIAN AWARD (2021) - The Association of Community Services of Howard County honors individuals and organizations with these prestigious awards to recognize work that volunteers do in service to others that exceeds any and all expectations. CEI won a 2021 award for our efforts to save and steward Freetown Farm. Community Ecology Institute Community Impact Award 2021 - YouTube
- $60K Award to 2021 Changemaker Challenge Finalists In HoCo - November, 2021
- CEI's Nourishing Gardens Pitch - The Howard County Changemaker Challenge - YouTube - November, 2021
- Howard County nationwide winner of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize – October, 2021
- This Experiential Learning Farm Helps Youth Build a Better World - YES! Magazine - September, 2021
- HOWARD COUNTY GREEN COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD (2020)
- VolunTeens at Freetown Farm - July 16, 2020
- Climate of Hope Innovation Grant - February 28, 2020
- Thousands of People are Growing 'Climate Victory Gardens' to Save the Planet - February 2, 2020
- HOWARD COUNTY GREEN COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD (2019)
- The Community Ecology Center connects people with the land that supports us all - December 23, 2019
- Second Climate Victory Garden In MD Built On Columbia Farm - November 12, 2019
- Leadership Howard County Community Impact Project video - October 2019
- Community Mobilized to Save Last Columbia Farm - April 25, 2019
- Columbia Farm to Become Community Ecology Center - April 12, 2019
- Community Ecology Institute: Growing a Farm into a Living Classroom in Howard County - March 22, 2019
- Meet Local Environmentalist, Chiara D'Amore - August 2, 2017
- Columbia Families in Nature introduces the great outdoors - June 19, 2014

Podcast: During the pandemic CEI had our own podcast called Community Blooms! Check us out wherever you listen to your podcasts, and to get you started here is a link to Community Blooms on Apple Podcasts.